Privacy & Your File
The Yukon Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) prohibits members of the Board and any employee of the Board from publicly divulging or allowing to be divulged, any information obtained in the administration of the Act.
Workers and their employers, or their representatives, or the dependant of a deceased worker, can review a worker’s file, under supervision, at the YWCHSB office. They can also request a copy of the file.
A request for disclosure form must be completed to obtain a copy of the file. Information from the file may only be used to prepare for a review or an appeal. Any other use is illegal.
Relevant Information:
Only relevant information shall be released to an employer or their agent from a claim file.
Relevant information means information pertaining only to compensable injury. There is no disclosure of personal information, which constitutes an unjustified invasion of personal privacy or confidentiality of the worker.
Decision Reports:
An employer of a worker who has made a compensation claim shall be notified of the following:
- Whether or not the claim has been accepted.
- The worker’s entitlement to benefits.
- Whether a worker is fit to return to work, or
- Whether benefits have stopped.
- Whether case management is taking place.
Progress Report:
An employer of a worker who has made a compensation claim shall, upon written request, receive a Progress Report concerning that worker.
The Progress Report shall contain:
- The current status of the worker regarding their fitness to return to work
- Whether the worker will be sent outside the territory for medical and rehabilitation.
- Any proposed or active rehabilitation plan.
Confidentiality:
Any information released to an employer in a Progress Report or a Decision Report is confidential. It may not be used by an employer for any purpose other than appeal, unless authorized by the board.
Information released to an employer for the purposes of an appeal may only be used by the employer for the purpose of the appeal. Any employer using this information for purposes other than appeal commits an offence under the Workers’ Compensation Act and may be liable, upon summary conviction, to a fine of up to $5,000 or up to six months imprisonment or both.
Information For The Purposes Of Appeal:
An employer who is a party to a review under section 53 or an appeal under section 54, may, upon written request, examine and copy any information in the Board’s possession that the Board considers relevant.
A worker or the dependants of a deceased worker shall immediately be notified of this request, and may object in writing to the President about the release of any information contained on the file within 14 days.
Worker’s Objection:
If a worker has objected in writing to the President to the release of any information on the file, the President will make the final determination of whether the information shall be provided to the employer.
There is no appeal against this decision unless the appeal panel, during the hearing of the appeal, determines the information is relevant to an issue under appeal. In this case, the employer will be provided with the information.
Permanent Removal Of Information From A Claim File:
A worker may request in writing the removal of specific information on their claim file. Information not considered relevant to the claim may be removed from a claim file on the recommendation of the Claims Adjudicator and with the approval of the Director of Claims.
Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board
